Detour #352: Climbing Kop Hill, UK
Photo Nik Berg
The historic Kop Hill Climb tops out a day’s drive in the Chilterns.
Since as far back as 1910 the Chilterns have echoed with the roar of internal combustion.
It was motorcyclists who first came to Kop Hill to test their machines against the steep incline, but soon the Kop Hill Climb would become a major fixture in British motorsport.
In its heyday the likes of Malcolm Campbell in Bluebird, Henry Seagrave in his Sunbeam and Raymond Mays behind the wheel of a Bugatti would thrill the crowds. Count Zborowski took his aero-engined Ballot up the 900-yard course in a scant 26.7 seconds, while Freddie Dixon rode his Douglas motorcycle to a record, averaging 81 mph from a standing start.
In 1925, however, the engines stopped when a spectator was injured and Kop Hill would host no more competitive events. In 2009, the event returned as a festival of motoring with historic vehicles once again taking to the course in demonstration runs.
Except for the annual festival on a September weekend, Kop Hill is a public road. Just outside the market town of Princes Risborough, off New Road, it’s marked by a small signpost that’s battling against early summer growth escaping from the neighbouring field.
Unlike other hillclimb venues, Kop Hill is short on hardcore corners, with the first few hundred metres almost dead straight. The biggest challenge is one of visibility as the road heads into the woods, bright sunlight giving way to near darkness as you enter the tree tunnel. Intermittent patches of dappled light can make it hard to spot the occasional pothole, or any on-coming traffic (much of which will be pedal powered, as the hill forms part of the official Chilterns Cycleway).
Peering out across the long, louvred bonnet of a Morgan Plus 4 I can almost picture the heroes of yesteryear powering up the hill.
The initial part of the climb is a steady 1 in 6, reaching a plateau before the only significant right-hand bend. Then the gradient steepens to 1 in 4, topping out at a blind crest and the final run to the junction with Peters Lane. During the festival weekends soap box racers start their gravity-powered runs at the top, free-wheeling all the way back to New Lane.
At road legal speeds it takes not much more than a minute to cover the course in either direction, but fortunately the winding roads through the Chilterns to get here are even more enjoyable.
Highlights include Park and Rignall Roads from Great Missenden to the east, while to the southwest is the A40 and the dramatic drop and sweeping corners of Aston Hill. Join the A4010 Wycombe Road north and it will take you right to the foot of Kop Hill. If you’re coming from Tring on the B4009 it’s worth a short detour on foot to climb Coombe Hill for one of the best views of the Chilterns.
No matter your route to get there, a climb up Kop Hill will certainly top a great driving day in the Chilterns.
ROADBOOK
CLASS: Historic Hill Climb
NAME: Kop Hill
ROUTE: New Lane to peters Lane
COUNTRY: ENGLAND
Distance: 0.7 Miles
The historic Kop Hill Climb tops out a day’s drive in the Chilterns.